Two piece cotton doffer



April 15, 1958 J. H.'BORNZIN ET AL 2,830,426

TWO PIECE COTTON DOFFER Filed Sept. 14, 1955 United States Patent TWO PIECE COTTON DOFFER James H. Bornzin, Chicago, Ill., and James E. Sadler and Robert M. Fachini, Memphis, Tenn., assignors to International Harvester Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application September 14, 1955, Serial No. 534,193

6 Claims. (Cl. 56-41) This invention relates to cotton pickers and more specifically to cotton picker dolfers.

In machines of the type under consideration, there is provided a drum which is rotatable preferably on a vertical axis and the drum incorporating a series of vertical rows of picking spindles which are sequentially entered into plants of a row to be picked and then the spindles are withdrawn and shifted to a dofiing station where mechanism is employed for removing the cotton from the spindles. In these machines it has been the practice heretofore to provide a vertical shaft which carries a series of circular doffer discs spaced vertically from one another on the order of the spacing of the cotton picker spindles so that each level of spindles is operated on by an individual doifer disc. It will be readily realized that if one disc of this vertical series becomes damaged then it is necessary to remove the entire dofier assembly and to remove the several dofiing discs endwise olf the supporting and driving shaft on which the discs are sleeved and then replace the defective one and then again reinsert all of the doffing discs on the shaft and assemble it with the other components of the cotton picker. This, of course, presents a very tedious and costly task and it is to obviate these disadvantages which is the principal object of this invention.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a novel dofiing means which comprise a driving support shaft on which are mounted a vertical series of dofier elements and each dofier element comprising a pair of complementary semi-circular portions which are clamped together about the shaft to provide a complete annular doffer disc.

A further object of the invention is to provide an arrangement wherein the dofiing discs are each supported individually from the shaft and do not depend upon their vertical disposition with respect to one another through a stacking arrangement or seating against each other which requires that each of the discs be of exact size to avoid cumulative errors in their vertical spacing.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel interlock between the two complementary halves of the doffer element so that they form a unitary structure in their assembled position.

Another object of the invention is to design the segments of the doifer so that both parts are of identical construction, thereby eliminating left hand and right hand pieces.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel multi-piece dofier unit wherein each doffing unit may be assembled or disassembled with respect to the support shaft without the necessity of dismantling the entire doffing mechanism.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent from the specification and the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the novel dofiing disc assembly.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the structure shown in Figure 1 with the lower dofiing element and associated portion of the support shaft being shown in radial section taken substantially on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a bottom view of one of the segments of the two-piece dofiing element.

Figure 4 is an edge view of the segment shown in Figure 3 taken from its inner side.

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Figure 1 illustrating the interlock between the complementary segments; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged substantially horizontal fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Figure 2; Figures 5 and 6 being on an enlarged scale.

Describing the invention in detail, the dofling mechanism generally designated 2 may be of the type shown and used in conjunction with the cotton picking mechanism shown in U. S. Patent 2,140,631. The structure includes a substantially vertical preferably tubular drive shaft and support 3 with which is associated a vertical series of dofier elements generally designated 4.

Each dofiing element 4 is constituted of a pair of identical portions or pieces 5 and each part or member 5 is a generally semi-annular structure as best seen in Figure 3 and comprises a semi-annular plate-like outer portion 6 with a semi-cylindrical hub portion 7 extending axially with respect to the plate portion 6 at the inner periphery thereof and the plate portion 6 is provided at.

its outer periphery with a plurality of substantially radially outwardly extending fingers 8. The bottom side 9 of the plate portion 6 may be dished and provided with a plurality of generally radially extending ribs 10 to provide a strong and lightweight structure which will resist axial deflection.

The portion 5 is provided outwardly of the plate portion 6 with a generally semi-annular wafer 11 of elastomer material which is preferably formed of rubber of the character of tire threads and the portion 11 has a face or surface 12 bonded or connected as by vulcanizing to the bottom sides 13 of the fingers 8. The wafer 11 is formed integral with a plurality of depending dofling lugs 14 which are disposed in axial alignment with the spaces 15 between the adjacent fingers 8. It will be seen that the wafers are provided with lugs 16 in axial alignment with the lugs 14 and extending upwardly from the wafer and formed complementary to and in interlocking engagement with opposed edges 17 of the adjacent fingers 8 to resist circumferential shearing stresses between the dofiing lugs and the carrier attendant to rotation and operation of the doffing element. The lugs 14 are thus yieldably supported from the fingers for deflection axially of the carrier 6.

It will be seen that each member 5 has a generally diametrical edge 19 which has opposite end portions 20 and 21 at opposite sides of the hub portion 7 and that the portions or radius segments 20 and 21 of edge 19 are disposed at an obtuse included angle with respect to each other of the order of only several seconds less than The outer extremity of the radius edge 20 is provided with a male dovetail element 23 and the outer extremity of the portion or radius edge 21 is provided with a female dovetail portion or slot 24 which is adapted to mate with the slot 24 and lug 23 of the opposed identical section 5 which is turned 180 with reference thereto. Referring now to Figure 2, it will be appreciated that the opposing identical elements 5 are disposed on opposite sides of the shaft 3 and that the hub portions 7 are provided with aligned axial openings 25 which register with the diametrical opening 26 in the shaft 3, said openings 25 and 26 receiving the shank portion 27 of the nut and bolt assembly 28, the shank portion being provided with a head 29 at one end which seats against the outer side 30 of the hub portion 7 of one member 5 and the shank portion 27 being threaded at its opposite end and provided with a nut 31 which seats against the outward surface 30 of the other portion 5. It will be appreciated that by tightening the nut and bolt assembly 28 that the hub portions 7 which have inner periphery or shaft-receiving notches 33 complementary to the outer periphery 34 of the shaft 3 are brought into tight complementary fitting engagement with the shaft and at the same time the plates 5 are placed in circumferential compression because the inner edge portions 20 and 21 of the segments 5 are not 180 or a straight line so that when the opposing sections 5 are brought together there is a tendency for these edges to straighten out and therefore the dovetails generally designated 35 are maintained in tight engagement.

It will be appreciated that a novel and simple and effective doifer assembly is thus provided and that each dofier structure is individually mountable and separable with respect to the carrier shaft 3 and that an effective and simple interlocking arrangement is provided not only between the pieces of the doifer structure and the shaft but also between the pieces themselves.

What is claimed is:

l. A multipiece cotton doifer for mounting on a shaft, comprising a pair of radially separable symmetrical approximately semi-circular doffer halves assembled together and having diametrical edges proximate to comprise a circular doffer unit concentric with the shaft, said doffer halves respectively having complementary shaftreceiving notches at the centers of their diametrical edges for closely nesting the shaft therebetween and each element further having an arcuate outer portion and doffing means carried by the outer portion in an area radially remote from its shaft-receiving notch, and means co operative, between the shaft and said doffer halves for securing the same together, and said portions at said diametrical edges having interlocking dovetail means coplanar with said portions.

2. A multipiece cotton dofier for mounting on a shaft, comprising a pair of radially separable symmetrical approximately semi-circular dotfer halves assembled together and having diametrical edges proximate to comprise a circular doffer unit concentric with the shaft, said dolfer halves respectively having complementary shaft receiving notches at the centers of their diametrical edges for closely nesting the shaft therebetween and each element further having an arcuate outer portion and dofling means carried by the outer portion in an area radially remote from its shaft-receiving notch, and means cooperative between the shaft and said doffer halves for securing the same together, and each portion having radial segments of its edge slightly diverging in normal rest position toward the other portion, said segments being sprung back and loaded in compression in the assembled position of said halves.

3. In a cotton picker doffer assembly, the combination of a shaft, a pair of identical diametrically opposed doffercarrying members disposed in embracing relation to the shaft, means connecting said members to each other and to said shaft and drawing the same together substantially perpendicular to said shaft, each member comprising a plate-like carrier portion substantially perpendicular to said shaft, said plate-like portions of respective members presenting opposed diametrical edges including radius segments disposed in abutting relationship to each other, each member having a male dovetail interlocking element on one radius segment and a female dovetail element on its other radius segment, and the male element of each member disposed in mating relation with the female element of the other, said radius segments of said edges disposed at more than a straight angle whereby when they are clamped together the said members are placed in circumferential compression.

4. The invention according to claim 3 and a semicylindrical axially extending hub formed integral with each said plate-like portion at the center of the diametrical edge, said hubs and shaft having registering openings, and said connecting means comprising a nut and bolt assembly extending through said registering openings in said hubs and shaft.

5. A cotton picker dolfer element comprising a generally semi-annular structure including a plate-like carrier portion having an inner peripheral semi-circumferential hub portion, and dotfing means connected to said platelike portion about the outer periphery thereof and including doffing lugs extending transversely of said portion, and said carrier portion having a diametrical edge and female dovetail interlocking means adjacent to one end of said edge and a male dovetail interlocking element adjacent to the opposite end of said edge.

6. The invention according to claim 5 and said edge having radius segments angularly related to each other at an included angle of slightly less than 180.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,664,689 Walker et al. Jan. 5, 1954 2,688,225 Morkoski Sept. 7, 1954 2,729,930 Walker Jan. 10, 1956 2,770,086 Knoth Nov. 13, 1956 

